把種子放進土裡
這一族就是核心本身:實際的農事動作。
plant seeds · verb · C1
To put seeds on or into a piece of ground so that plants will grow.
播種
這個拼法底下其實是2個不同的字，意思沒有關係， 只是長得一樣。下面分開列出來。跳到 plant seeds · female pig
1
sow
v唸法不同同樣的拼法，這個字的唸法跟另一個不一樣。/səʊ/，跟 go 的母音一樣。
核心畫面
One way to picture it: a hand small seeds into open ground. Nothing looks like much at the moment of — the whole point is what comes up later, somewhere you are no longer standing.
一隻手把細小的種子撒進翻好的土裡。撒下去的那一刻幾乎看不出什麼——地還是地，種子小到看不見。sow 這個動作的重量全…更多收起
一隻手把細小的種子撒進翻好的土裡。撒下去的那一刻幾乎看不出什麼——地還是地，種子小到看不見。sow 這個動作的重量全部押在「以後」：東西已經進了土,接下來只是時間的事。這個「現在放進去、以後長出來、而且長出來的比放進去的多很多」的落差,就是 sow 一直帶著走的感覺。From the word’s history
From Old English sāwan, from Proto-Germanic *sēaną, from Proto-Indo-European *seh₁- 'to sow, to plant' — the same root that gives seed and semen. The word has meant the scattering of seed for as long as it has been recorded; the modern figurative uses are all later extensions of that one physical act.
這個字從古英語 sāwan 一路下來,再往上追到原始印歐語的 *seh₁-「播撒、種下」——seed（種子）和 semen 都是同一個根。也就是說,「撒種」不是它的其中一個意思,而是它從頭到尾唯一的本義；後來能講「種下懷疑」「種下禍根」,都是把這個實際的農事動作借去講抽象的事。
Wiktionary, entry 'sow' (Etymology 2), citing Old English sāwan < Proto-Germanic *sēaną < PIE *seh₁-
Three branches
種下看不見的東西,以後才發作
和核心是同一個動作,只是換了「土」:從田換成人心、換成一個局勢。
create future trouble · verb · C1
To do something now that will cause a bad situation later, or to spread a bad feeling such as doubt among people.
種下
只活在固定片語裡
借的是同一個「撒種」畫面,但整句已經凝固成一個不能拆的說法。
sow your wild oats · verb · C1
If a man sows his wild oats, he has many short relationships when he is young, before he starts a steady life.
放浪
A second word, same spelling
2
sow
n唸法不同同樣的拼法，這個字的唸法跟另一個不一樣。/saʊ/，跟 now 的母音一樣。
核心畫面
A picture you can hold: a big, heavy, fully grown female pig lying on her side in the straw with her litter pressed against her. Bulk and in one animal.
一頭又大又沉的成年母豬,側躺在稻草上,一窩小豬擠在牠肚子邊吃奶。這個字給人的感覺就是「體型」加上「生育」兩件事疊在一…更多收起
一頭又大又沉的成年母豬,側躺在稻草上,一窩小豬擠在牠肚子邊吃奶。這個字給人的感覺就是「體型」加上「生育」兩件事疊在一起——牠不是可愛的小豬,是農場裡分量最重、負責生小豬的那一隻。From the word’s history
From Old English sugu, from Proto-West Germanic *sugu, from Proto-Germanic *sugō — an old animal name related to the imitative root behind pig noises, and cognate with Latin sūs and Greek hys. It has always meant simply 'female pig'.
這個 sow 從古英語 sugu 一路下來,再上溯到原始日耳曼語 *sugō,拉丁文的 sūs、希臘文的 hys 都是同一家族,可能源自模仿豬叫聲的古老詞根。它從有紀錄開始就只是「母豬」,沒有別的意思。要特別注意:這個 sow 唸 /saʊ/(和 now 押韻),和「播種」那個唸 /soʊ/(和 go 押韻)的 sow 完全是兩個不同來源的字,只是拼法剛好撞在一起。
Wiktionary, entry 'sow' (Etymology 1), citing Old English sugu < Proto-Germanic *sugō
原始詞典資料16 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
Sowname/saʊ/
- 1
A surname.
- 2
A river in Staffordshire, England, which joins the River Trent.
sownoun詞源 1/saʊ/
- 1
A female animal
- 2
A female animal
- Lucky he wasn't a sow. They've usually just dropped a cub this time of year. A sow would have been cranky as hell.
- 3
A female animal
- 4
derogatoryslangA contemptible, often fat woman.
- 5
A channel that conducts molten metal to molds.
- 6
A mass of metal solidified in a mold.
- In England, it was generally termed a 'sow', if the weight was above 10 cwts., if below, it was termed a 'pig' from which the present term 'pig iron' is derived.
- 7
governmentmilitarypoliticsA kind of covered shed, formerly used by besiegers in filling up and passing the ditch of a besieged place, sapping and mining the wall, etc.
sowverb詞源 2/səʊ/
- 1
To scatter, disperse, or plant (seeds).
- When I had sown the field, the day's work was over.
- 2
To spread abroad; to propagate.
- as you sow, so shall you reap
- Euen as I haue seene, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickednsse, reape the same.
- 3
To scatter over; to besprinkle.
- The intellectual faculty is a goodly field, […] and it is the worst husbandry in the world to sow it with trifles.
- [He] sowd with Starrs the heav'n.
這個拼法也被記錄為下列字的變化形：
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。